11 plus support thread for exams 2024

[ElvenDreamer]

Hi all,
Anyone fancy joining me for for an 11 plus support thread for those yr 5s who are probably just starting a bit of prep now ready to sit exams in September 2024?

State grammar is the angle I'm personally coming from but all welcome no matter if you're applying to private selective, state aptitude tests etc.

This will be my 3rd and final time of going through this and I've found support threads here really useful the previous times.

Hello, I am new to all of this

She was worried about the English as she struggles with comprehension but she found that ok. It was the maths she struggled with which is a surprise as that's her strongest subject.

Goes to show, they are unpredictable and we can prep and support them as much as we can but ultimately comes down to the test on the day.

*the tests are unpredictable

@slaybell well everything crossed for her. Maybe if she found it tricky lots of others will too.

Their not there (it's been a long day )

I'm a bit confused! We get the results from the 11+ and will know a score. But we don't know the lowest accepted score.

So do we put down the grammar as first choice anyway and hope? With catchment state as second choice?

Not sure what we're waiting for to apply?

Hoping my tired brain is making some sense here!

If you’re in catchment it’s usually around 334.

My DD did the Loreto exam today and said it was so much more difficult than the Trafford consortium one. Did anyone else’s DD struggle? She was expecting it to be the other way round. She’s been doing so well in all her prep I just don’t think any of us were expecting her to come out upset today.

I heard that the loretto one was easier than the 11+ from the two girls that I have spoken too today

Yes my DD found it more difficult. Particularly the maths

Thanks, it’s just so difficult to tell how they’ve done. She said it was so much harder than the mocks, practice GL papers and the SAT’s maths she’d been doing I think it was a bit of a shock for her. I guess we won’t know for a few weeks but she came out so deflated.

My daughter was totally deflated after the 11+, I’m pretty sure after speaking to her more about the bits that she struggled with that she won’t have passed 😢

Hi everyone, my first post here. I actually have been reading this over the past few months and felt reassured I wasnt the only one being consumed by it!

My son only decided he wanted to sit the 11+ in March so had a mad scramble to register him at the school. He’s in the top groups for everything at his school and likes learning so I assumed it wouldn’t be too much required to get him ready. Obviously I now know this is a ridiculous statement!! Quite soon after getting hold of the familiarisation paper I realised he would need help so he started with a tuition provider.

We’ve had lots of tears and tantrum over the past few months but we’ve got there in the end and he’s actually sitting the 2nd exam now whilst I’m writing this. I think more than the content he’s really struggled to get to grips with the pressure of the exam and the timings etc. He’s at a state school and didn’t have any Sats already due to Covid.

We will all be relieved when the exams are over today and I can instead start worrying about the results!!! The school he’s aiming for is a superselective and apparently record number of kids sitting this year so I think will need much higher than the pass mark.

This was what I was about to ask next as I really don’t understand the process but I’ve been just focusing on getting the exam done first.

The school my son will want to go to if he doesn’t get into grammar is over subscribed with first choice applications. We are on the next street to that school so we would definitely get in on the admission criteria but I’m not sure if putting it as the second choice makes a difference to that?

if the mocks are anything to go by my son will be on track for the 220 pass but maybe not a high enough score to feel comfortable he will most likely get in

Welcome to the thread @SquashSqueezee my DC is sitting his 2nd paper as I type too.

Yes, to those who asked, if you are looking at state grammars, your scores will give you some idea if they have a chance, then you stick it as your top choice and pray!

The schools don’t know what order you have ranked them so you won’t be “penalised” for putting a school down as second/third/fourth choice. You will be offered your highest ranking school for which you meet the entry criteria.

Thanks both for your replies. That’s a relief on how the places are allocated as we live directly opposite the state school that will be our 2nd choice option if don’t get into the grammar.

My son seemed to think it went well and he’s also relieved it’s over!!

Per the dates on the schools website results are due to be emailed at midday on Friday 11th October so at least there is only 3 weeks to wait.

Like other posters on the thread I’ve got 2 younger children to potentially also navigate through the 11+ but will feel more prepared and know to start earlier etc!

I kind of feel the same way. Guess we'll find out soon enough..

DD had hers today, she seems happy enough with how it went. I'm not reading too much into that though. She's very laid back! Now on to the final countdown for DS. Results are 4th October for DD and mid-October for DS.

I am on DC No 4 and got the older 3 through the 11 plus myself. I am still making it up…
DC4 reports in detail after every exam, but it means nothing. We shall see. DC sat 4 already and 2 have potential second stages. We are also sitting banding tests and music scholarships for comps. I am really proud of DC just taking it all in their stride and showing great resilience. They have commented that they are feeling happy they are excelling at school now too. We only started 11 plus prep in July. DC was not emotionally ready before that so I did not see the point to go for it, without their actual buy-in.

DS is home, said the maths paper was horrific so he's not holding out much hope, I guess it will depend how everyone else found it too. Marks out on Oct 14th which will give us a rough idea of chance, if there is a chance, then it will go on the secondary application and we'll wait the long wait to March. Good luck to everyone else with tests still to take.

@ElvenDreamer - I do wonder when these schools vary the papers so much from eg English heavy to Maths heavy whether they can then actually tell the difference in their intake and their innate abilities. Perhaps they do it on purpose so that they do not just have kids wanting to do STEM/Maths as they need to keep all the teacher employed.

@SquashSqueezee glad it's not just me!

Can anyone who's been through it before help?

Say they scored 215. Would you still put a grammar first and state second?

Say they scored 210, would you still do the same?

I sort of feel you don't lose anything by putting g down a grammar, because if you don't qualify they just move to your second choice?

My DC came out ok and seemed quite positive but lots of people I've spoken to said it was hard/unusual format/didn't finish, so not sure if they're just in a (gorgeous) naive little bubble!

It you get a score that’s within the range of the acceptance mark for previous years (say, within 5 of the lowest acceptance mark) then Id say it’s worth putting the selective school down. And just put all the schools you apply for in the order of your preference.

If your DC score is, say, more than 5 marks lower than previous years’ acceptance mark then you have to decide if it’s worth likely wasting an option by putting it down still or if you still want to take a punt.

This will depend on whether you are confident of getting one of your other options. If there is a chance you won’t get any of your others then you should substitute the selective school for a dead cert backup option that you could live with.

Hope that makes sense!

I’ve checked with some parents in my area who have had older children been through it and it’s as the previous poster says.

If they achieve the “pass” mark stated by the school they are eligible to apply so for us that is 220. If my son passes then we will put then the grammar as our first choice even though we know will need to score significantly more to have a chance. The reason being not he doesn’t get a place then it moves to his next choice which we know he will be offered as he’s at the feeder junior school and we live within 0.1 mile of a school.

from reading previous threads of the eleven plus threads you never know with the scores and what will “be enough” as so many factors so it makes sense to put as gores choice if they pass - providing they actually want to go to the school!

if you google your local authority you can view the official policy - ours if very long winded but in a nutshell is what it says.

I thought until recently that with the results we would get an indication of what the lowest offered score would be but obviously that’s not the case. So I’m guessing I’ll be pouring over the forums until March!!

My son was positive about both exam - he only had to sit VR and NVR GL papers but his mocks were so variable Im not reading too much into that.